Caveat - I do not have much of a background on this topic.
I don't quite know how to ask what I want to ask, but I've wanted to ask this since I first saw how long it took to reload a musket - and that muskets were still being using in the American Civil War.
When did rifles first appear that didn't require a soldier to bite off a cartridge, shove a ramrod into the muzzle, then a bullet, then the ramrod again before being able to fire?
If necessity is the mother of invention wouldn't an army that could wield a firearm that reloads quicker than a musket have done serious damage? If so, why did it (seemingly) take so long for this to happen?
Depending on your country, between the 1840s and the 1870s. I wrote up a brief overview of the introduction of breechloaders which you can read here, but if you have questions or need anything expanded upon, don't hesitate to ask!